The series finale of The Vampire Diaries ties up many characters’ stories, but it also never really explains why Bonnie is heading to Africa at the episode’s end. Based on the novels of the same name by writer L.J. Smith, The Vampire Diaries spanned a lengthy eight seasons. In 2017, the show’s finale came in the form of season 8, episode 16, “I Was Feeling Epic,” and its die-hard legions of fans seemed to have generally positive feelings toward how the CW series wrapped things up. Even so, one character didn’t receive the kind of happy ending many viewers would have preferred for her: Kat Graham’s Bonnie Bennett. In fact, the way her character’s fate was left seemed a tad out-of-place to many – at least, on the surface.
The Vampire Diaries season 1 premiered in 2009, forever embedding itself as one of the big players (alongside projects like HBO’s True Blood and the earlier Twilight franchise movies) during a time when pop culture was fascinated by vampire dramas. The series peers into the town of Mystic Falls, featuring Virginia’s most interesting residents – which, as the world now knows, is a fictional town that has always seen its fair share of supernatural beings. The Vampire Diaries features an intriguing cast of characters. There are the starkly different vampire brothers Stefan and Damon Salvatore, as well as other main and/or recurring individuals like Elena Gilbert. And, of course, there’s Bonnie Bennett; she’s a witch that shouldn’t be trifled with throughout The Vampire Diaries – right up until the end.
Many main characters have their stories tied up, rather tidily at that, in the latter portion of “I Was Feeling Epic.” For instance, Elena and Damon are shown as a married couple at the end of the Vampire Diaries finale, and there are multiple familial reunions. However, one character’s fate that initially seems a bit strange is that of Bonnie. She’s shown packing her things before a trip and looking over travel brochures about Africa. Aside from the glaringly problematic nature of lumping all of Africa’s countries together, the moment left many viewers wondering what, exactly, would make her journey overseas seemingly out of the blue. There’s a theory about this, which was briefly discussed on Reddit: “At the end when everyone was getting there happy ending. Bonnie made a promise to Enzo that she will still travel and explore the world. those were just random brochures to let the fans know she’s living up to her promises.”
It seems Bonnie may have very well been staying true to what she told fellow Vampire Diaries character Enzo (who was killed earlier in season 8), her lover in a popular show partnership before his death. She had promised him that she would travel and see the world, and, judging by the end of the finale, she plans to do just that. In addition, as many viewers have noted online, it’s important that the show leaves Bonnie’s character on a path where she’s still going to live her life to the fullest and attain personal peace.
This part of her implied future was purposely conveyed by the series’ creative team. Writer/producer Kevin Williamson is quoted by Bustle as saying about some of the Vampire Diaries characters’ happy endings in the finale and how eventual peace was prioritized while making the show: “We wanted to visually show what those internal moments of peace looked like for each character. We always wanted it to be interpreted. What did this show mean to you? You know, what’s your idea of peace?” Though, as previously mentioned, treating the continent of Africa as one homogenous place on the front of Bonnie’s brochure was a clumsy misstep, her specific version of a happy ending (as happy as it can be with her true love being dead) fits in nicely with the Vampire Diaries finale’s message. Not only that, but it also conveys a sense of hope for Bonnie’s character, who, once again, saves the day in “I Was Feeling Epic.”
